Building rail system

ABSTRACT

A building rail system. The system includes large and small building rails capable of forming flush connections at varied angles. The flush connection of the rails eliminates an extra layer of space that would otherwise exist if the rails had to be offset to form a connection.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 15/494,768, filed Apr. 24, 2017, titled “Building Rail System,” to Jimmy K. Yeary, Jr., now U.S. Pat. No. 10,844,609, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/326,235, filed Apr. 22, 2016, titled “Building Rail System,” to Jimmy K. Yeary, Jr., the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Building rail systems are used to support siding on a building.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A recent trend in the construction of energy-efficient buildings is the use of continuous insulation. The use of continuous insulation has become a popular practice in Europe, due in large part to Europe's high energy standards. As energy codes in the United States are updated with higher building efficiency requirements, there is likely to be an increased utilization of continuous insulation in newly built and updated buildings within the United States, as well.

Building rail systems are currently used in some continuous insulation systems. A common function of a building rail system is the hanging of exterior facade panels.

According to the present disclosure, a building system is provided including a plurality of structural support members and a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing. The building wall layer is coupled to the plurality of structural support members. The system further includes a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members and siding supported by the building rail system. The building rail system includes a plurality of vertical rails having an interior surface facing inwardly toward a building interior and an exterior surface and a plurality of transverse rails coupled to the vertical rails. The vertical rails have a different outer cross-sectional profile than an outer cross-sectional profile of the transverse rails.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a building system is provided that includes a plurality of structural support members and a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing. The building wall layer is coupled to the plurality of structural support members. The system further includes a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members and siding supported by the plurality of rails. The siding and the building wall layer cooperate to define a vertical air flow path there between. At least 60 percent of the vertical air flow path is blocked by the thickness of the plurality of transverse rails. The building rail system includes a plurality of rails positioned adjacent to the building wall layer. The plurality of rails includes a plurality of substantially vertical rails having vertical outermost edges, a plurality of transverse rails having a height extending between the substantially vertical rails and a thickness. The plurality of transverse rails overlap with the plurality of vertical rails with ends of the plurality of transverse rails extending past the outermost vertical edges of the plurality of substantially vertical rails.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a building system is provided that includes a plurality of structural support members and a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing. The building wall layer is coupled to the plurality of structural support members. The system further includes a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members and siding supported by the plurality of rails. The siding and the building wall layer cooperating to define a vertical air flow path there between, at least 60 percent of the vertical air flow path being blocked by the thickness of the plurality of transverse rails. The building rail system includes a plurality of substantially vertical rails having concavities and a plurality of transverse rails having ends. The ends of the plurality of transverse rails are located within the concavities of the vertical rails.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned aspects and many of the intended features of this disclosure will grow to be appreciated at a greater level once references to the following accompanying illustrations are expounded upon.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of a building rail system showing the system including large vertical rails and small transverse rails in between the vertical rails;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the system of FIG. 1 showing small rails nesting with vertical rails;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building rail system in use with a window showing the large and small rails and horizontal facade supporting members;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing a small rail at a diagonal angle, nested with two large vertical rails, and a small rail positioned horizontally above this system;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 4 showing the small diagonal rail flipped so that that bottom of the rail (as shown in FIG. 4 is) is facing upward;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the small rail (shaded) nested with the large rail;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a single small rail of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the large rail (shaded) nested with the small rail;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of a single large rail of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional of a large rail with a typical drip edge detail;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a system comprising the large vertical rails and the small transverse rails showing insulation, a waterproofing layer, and sheathing (portion of each cutaway) positioned interior of the rails;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing a large rail held in place by a top fixed connection;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 13-13 of FIG. 12 showing the large rail within a building exterior;

FIG. 14 is view similar to FIG. 10 showing a large rail with a building exterior;

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing a large rail with a window head detail;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 16-16 of FIG. 15 showing a large rail with a window jam detail, and

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a pair of rails having a transverse rails positioned between the pair of vertical rails.

Equivalent reference components point to corresponding parts throughout the several views. Unless otherwise indicated, the components shown in the drawings are proportional to each other. Wherein, the illustrations depicted are manifestations of the disclosure, and such illustrations shall in no way be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principals of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. The embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. It will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. The disclosure includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrative devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the disclosure which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a section of a wall 10 is shown, displaying an embodiment of a rail system 20 comprising large vertical rails 14 and small transverse rails 12. In this embodiment, rails 12, 14 are comprised of extruded aluminum. In some embodiments, only vertical rails 14 are used, with no small rails 12 placed in between. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, small rails 12 are angled at 45 degree and nest with vertical rails 14 so that a flush connection is formed, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. In this depiction, at a flush connection point between a small rail 12 and large rail 14, a center section 22 of small rail 12 rests on a bottom flange 24 of large rail 14, and top flanges 32 of small rail 12 align with top flanges 34 of large rail 14. The flush connection between vertical rails 14 and small rails 12 eliminates an extra layer of space that would otherwise exist if the rails had to be offset to form a connection.

In some embodiments, rails 12, 14 are fastened together with stainless steel fasteners 11 and thermal washers 13 at grooves 42, 44 (see FIGS. 7, 9). In some embodiments, when fasteners 11 and thermal washers 13 secure the connection between larger rails 14 and small rails 12, they fasten center section 22 of small rail 12 to lower flange 32 of large rail 14 (see FIG. 2). However, this is not the only means of fastening vertical rails 14 and small rails 12 to one another. Small rail 12 and large rail 14 function to hold exterior facade panels 40 (represented by dashed rectangle in FIG. 3), which may be coupled to a horizontal member 15 coupled to small rail 12 and large rail 14.

Small rail 12 and large rail 14 may be coupled to a plural of structural support members, such as interior metal studs 17, as can be seen in more detail in FIGS. 10 and 12-16. In some embodiments, this connection will be made with fasteners 11 and thermal washers 13, and a region 30 will exist between large rail 14 and metal stud 17. Region 30 is sized to accommodate building wall layers such as, but not limited to, insulation 16 and waterproofing 21 (see FIG. 10). Region 30 may allow for large areas of wall 10 to be insulated with an uninterrupted (other than fasteners 11) body or matrix of insulation 16. With large areas of wall 10 insulated with a continuous body or matrix of insulation 16 without interruption or sectioning by intermediate structural bodies, such as metal studs 17 or wooden studs (not shown), wall 10 may function to further restrict heat transfer that may otherwise occur through the one or more intermediate structural bodies. Intermediate structural bodies which facilitate high transfer of heat to and from opposing sides of wall 10 may be referred to as “thermal bridges.” According to the preferred embodiment, insulation has an R-value of at least 10. According to alternative embodiments, other R-value may be provided, such as 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, etc.

Referring to FIG. 3, another wall 110 is shown. In this embodiment, a configuration of vertical rails 14 and angled small rails 12 similar to the configuration in FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown in use with a window 18. Additionally, in this embodiment, horizontal member 15 is shown, which is an intermediate member between rail system 20 and exterior facade panels 40 (represented by dashed rectangle in FIG. 3) that are supported by rail system 20. As depicted, window frame 18 is placed between vertical rails 14, and above sections of angled small rails 12. In other words, window frame 18 may occupy an area that would otherwise comprise additional angled small rails 12, bit for window frame 18.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, sections of individual rails 12, 14, according to one embodiment, are shown. Vertical rails 14 are displayed vertically in a way in which they may be configured in a rail system 20. In this embodiment, small rail 12 is placed at a 45 degree angle between two vertical rails 14, and small rail 12 is nested flush with vertical rails 14 so that flanges 32 of small rail 12 (FIG. 4) or center section 22 of small rail 12 (FIG. 5) align at an equal height to top flanges 34 of vertical rails 14. FIGS. 4 and 5 show how, in some embodiments, small rail 12 may be placed with its center section 22 facing either upward or downward. In FIG. 5, small rail 12 has been rotated 180 degrees along its longitudinal axis 19 in comparison to its position in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 6-9, cross sectional drawings of vertical rails 14 and small rails 12 are provided. In FIGS. 6 and 7, small rail 12 is shaded. In FIGS. 8 and 9, large rail 14 is shaded. The components in FIGS. 7 and 9 are proportional with the labeled measurements being merely representative of one configuration. FIGS. 6 and 8 illustrate the flush relationship of small rail 12 nested next to large rail 14. Although large rail 14 and small rail 12 are shown parallel in FIGS. 6 and 8, in some embodiments they may not be parallel and may be connected at an angle with small rail 12 cut to nest evenly against large rail 14 with top flanges 24 of small rails 12 at an equal height to top flanges 34 of vertical rails 14. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, in one embodiment small rail 12 may be angled at 45 degrees and connected to vertical large rail 14 by fasteners 11 and thermal washers 13. As shown in FIG. 4, ends 45 of transverse rails 12 are located within concavities 49 of vertical rails 14. Transverse rails 12 overlap with vertical rails 14 and have ends 45 that may be squared or angled. Ends 45 of transverse rails 12 extend past outermost vertical edges 51 of vertical rails 14.

FIGS. 10 and 12-16 are cross sectional views of a building rail system 20. In FIG. 10, wall 10 is shown with one embodiment of large rail 14 within it. In one embodiment, rail 14 is fastened to metal stud 17 with fasteners 11 and thermal washers 13 with layer of insulation 16, layer of waterproofing 21, and an intermediate layer 23 of a material such as densglass or plywood between rail 14 and metal stud 17. In some embodiments, large rail 14 may end at a drip edge 25 with a concrete slab 27 below drip edge 25.

Referring to FIG. 12, large rail 14 may end at a top fixed connection with coping 29 above the top fixed connection. Referring to FIG. 14, large rail 14 may exist within wall 10 without proximity to a drip edge or top fixed connection. Referring to FIG. 15, in other embodiments, large rail 14 may end at window head 16. Referring to FIG. 16, in some embodiments, large rail 14 may be placed directly next to window frame 18.

As shown in FIG. 7, small rails 12 include two exterior channels 46 and one interior channel 47. When siding, such as façade panels 40, are attached to small rails 12, channels 46, 47 create gutters that direct water that penetrates through or around façade panels 40. Channels 46, 47 direct this water toward vertical rails 14. As shown in FIG. 8, vertical rails 14 include channels 48 that receive water from certhannels 46, 47 of small rails 12 when small rails are coupled to large rails 14. Channels 48 create downspouts that direct water toward drip edge 25 and eventually to the ground. Thus, small and vertical rails 12, 14 define a gutter and downspout system that directs water that gets behind the siding, such as façade panels 40, toward the ground so the captured water stays away from the portion of the building interior of rails 12, 14. The ends of the transverse rails

As shown in FIG. 17, two large rails 14 are coupled to insulation panel 16. Small rails 12 (for simplicity only one small rail 12 is shown) are coupled to large rails 14 and siding, such as a façade panel 40, is supported on small rail 12. As discussed above, water that gets behind panel 40 is captured by channels 46, 47 of small rail 12 and directed to channel 48 of either (or both) of larger rails 14 depending on the angle at which small rail 12 is installed on larger rails 14.

According to some installations, a gap 50 exists between insulation panel 16 and façade panel 40 creating a potential air flow path between large rails 14 having a cross-sectional area equal to a distance between insulation panel 16 and façade 40 and a distance between centers of large rails 14. For example, if the centers of large rails 14 are 16 inches apart and insulation panel 16 is about 0.7 inches (the height of vertical rails 14) away from façade 40, the cross-sectional area is about 11.2 square inches. Vertical rails 14 and transverse rails 12 fill a majority of this cross-sectional area to restrict the flow of air between insulation panel 16 and façade panel 40. According to some installations, at gap of about 1.15 square inches (0.1 inches wide and 11.5 inches long) exists between transverse rail 12 and installation panel 16. Channels 48 have an area of about 0.325 square inches (0.65 inches by 0.5 inches) each (or 0.65 square inches per vertical rail 14) and center channels 52 of vertical rails are about 0.45 square inches (0.74 inches by 0.6 inches). Thus, of the 11.2 square inches between insulation panel 16 and façade panel 40 mentioned above, about 2.25 square inches remains open after vertical and transverse rails 14, 12 are installed. Thus, about 20% of the cross-sectional area/air flow path remains open and about 80% is closed by vertical and transverse rails 14, 12. According to alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, more or less of the cross-sectional area/air flow path between insulation panel 16 (or whatever layer of material vertical rails 14 are attached to) and façade panel 40 (or whatever layer of material is supported on vertical and transverse rails 14, 12) is filled by rails 12, 14. For example, although 20% remains open as discussed above, 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 10%, 15%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, etc. may remain open.

About 6% of the cross-sectional area/air flow path that remains open is provided by channels 48 of vertical rails 14 and permits water to flow down vertical rails 14 to drip edge 25 and eventually the ground as discussed above. According to alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, more or less of the cross-sectional area/air flow path between insulation panel 16 (or whatever layer of material vertical rails 14 are attached to) and façade panel 40 (or whatever layer of material is supported on vertical and transverse rails 14, 12) remains open because of channels 48 of vertical rails 14. For example, although 6% remains open because of channels 48 as discussed above, 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 10%, etc. may remain open because of channels 48 of rails 14.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the terms “vertical rails” and “small rails” may not necessarily refer to the geometric or physical characteristics of the rails. For example, in some embodiments, the vertical rails may have one or more dimensions, such as length, width, or height that are less than the one or more corresponding dimension of the small rails.

While this disclosure has been described as having an exemplary design, the present disclosure may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practices in the art to which this disclosure pertains. 

1. A building system including: a plurality of structural support members; a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing, the building wall layer being coupled to the plurality of structural support members; a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members including: a plurality of vertical rails having an interior surface facing inwardly toward a building interior and an exterior surface; and a plurality of transverse rails coupled to the vertical rails; and siding supported by the building rail system, the vertical rails having a different outer cross-sectional profile than an outer cross-sectional profile of the transverse rails.
 2. The building system of claim 1, wherein the vertical rails have a width that is substantially wider than a width of the transverse rails.
 3. The building system of claim 1, wherein the transverse rails are “U”-shaped.
 4. The building system of claim 1, wherein the vertical rails have a height, and the transverse rails have a height that is less than the height of the vertical rails.
 5. The building system of claim 1, wherein the transverse rails overlap with the vertical rails.
 6. A building system including: a plurality of structural support members; a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing, the building wall layer being coupled to the plurality of structural support members; a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members where the structural support members include: a plurality of rails positioned adjacent to the building wall layer including: a plurality of substantially vertical rails having vertical outermost edges; and a plurality of transverse rails having a height extending between the substantially vertical rails and a thickness, the plurality of transverse rails overlapping with the plurality of vertical rails with ends of the plurality of transverse rails extending past the outermost vertical edges of the plurality of substantially vertical rails; and siding supported by the plurality of rails, the siding and the building wall layer cooperating to define a vertical air flow path there between, at least 60 percent of the vertical air flow path being blocked by the thickness of the plurality of transverse rails.
 7. The building system of claim 6, wherein the vertical rails have a width that is substantially wider than a width of the transverse rails.
 8. The building system of claim 6, wherein the vertical rails have a different outer cross-sectional profile than an outer cross-sectional profile of the transverse rails.
 9. The building system of claim 6, wherein the transverse rails are “U”-shaped.
 10. The building system of claim 6, wherein the vertical rails have a height, and the transverse rails have a height that is less than the height of the vertical rails.
 11. A building system including: a plurality of structural support members; a building wall layer including at least one of insulation, sheathing, and waterproofing, the building wall layer being coupled to the plurality of structural support members; a building rail system supported by the plurality of structural support members including: a plurality of substantially vertical rails having concavities; and a plurality of transverse rails having ends; the ends of the plurality of transverse rails located within the concavities of the vertical rails; and siding supported by the plurality of rails, the siding and the building wall layer cooperating to define a vertical air flow path there between, at least 60 percent of the vertical air flow path being blocked by the thickness of the plurality of transverse rails.
 12. The building system of claim 11, wherein the vertical rails have a width that is substantially wider than a width of the transverse rails.
 13. The building system of claim 11, wherein the vertical rails have a different outer cross-sectional profile than an outer cross-sectional profile of the transverse rails.
 14. The building system of claim 11, wherein the transverse rails are “U”-shaped.
 15. The building system of claim 11, wherein the vertical rails have a height, and the transverse rails have a height that is less than the height of the vertical rails.
 16. The building system of claim 11, wherein the transverse rails overlap with the vertical rails.
 17. The building system of claim 11, wherein the transverse rails have a length and width and the vertical rails have a length and width and the width of the transverse rails is substantially greater than the width of the transverse rails. 